Apparatus and method for compressing pliable articles

ABSTRACT

An apparatus and method are disclosed for a continuous compressing operation involving receiving pliable articles, compressing them along a single axis, and releasing them once compresssed. The apparatus and method each involve the use of a pair of disks arranged in a V-shaped configuration, with their opposing surfaces contoured to form opposing recesses which, together with a flexible barrier spanning the space between the disks, define a pocket opening toward the rims of the disks for receiving the article and retaining it during compression. The disks are rotated while maintaining the V shape, thereby causing the pocket and hence the retained article to become compressed. Once the narrowest point of the V is passed, the compressed article is released by gravitational force.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation-in-part of copending application Ser.No. 06/540,572, filed Oct. 7, 1983, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to machinery for flattening pliablearticles. In particular, this invention relates to fruit handlingmachinery for compressing fruits, and most prticularly for compressingoblong fruits along their long axis. This invention has particularutility in the shaping of pitted prunes.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Fruits and other food items are often reshaped prior to packaging. Thisserves to enhance their appearance and their utility in foodpreparations. A prime example is the Sunsweet pitted prune which, priorto being packaged for sale to the consumer, is compressed along itslongitudinal axis. The result is a generally circular flattened shape,with the fruit flesh concentrated toward the periphery and a void ordepression in the center. This shape permits the formation of a pocketin the center while still maintaining full closure of the fruit flesh bythe skin. This unique and desirable shape provides a marketing advantagefor a number of reasons, including uniformity of size and shape, ease ofpackaging, pleasing texture, and relatively smooth surface. The centralpocket is suitable for stuffing with garnishes, and thus useful inpreparing hors d'oeuvres and fruit salads. In addition, prunes of thisunique shape are generally more suitable for eating out of hand.

Existing machinery for producing pitted prunes shaped in this mannergenerally combines both the pitting function and the shaping function.Examples are those described in Cantoni et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,260,291(July 12, 1966) and Cantoni et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,333,618 (Aug. 1,1967). Other devices remove the pits without compressing. Examples arethose disclosed in Ashblock, U.S. Pat. No. 2,528,294 (Oct. 31, 1950);Ashlock, U.S. Pat. No. 2,589,324 (Mar. 18, 1952); Ashlock, U.S. Pat. NO.2,604,131 (July 22, 1952); Ashlock, U.S. Pat. No. 2,614,594 (Oct. 21,1952); Margaroli et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,469,612 (Sept. 30, 1969); andMargaroli et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,556,281 (Jan. 19, 1971).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A novel device and method are provided for the compression or flatteningof a pliable article. The apparatus generally comprises a pair ofrotating canted disks whose shape, contour, and position relative toeach other cause them to form a pocket for receiving and holding thearticle in a particular preselected alignment, then move together asthey rotate, narrowing the pocket and compressing the article whilestill maintaining the alignment. The result is a simple, convenient, andefficient design with a minimum of moving parts.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an illustrative embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view of the embodiment of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIFIC AND PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following is offered to demonstrate the structure and function ofthe invention in a variety of illustrative embodiments, with particularreference to the embodiment shown in the attached drawings.

The figures illustrate two views of a compressing apparatus 1 accordingto the present invention. The apparatus generally comprises a pair ofrotatable disks 2 and 3 arranged in a substantially vertical V-shapedconfiguration. In the embodiment shown, these disks are mounted on acommon horizontal support shaft 4 passing through the center of eachdisk. The inner surface of each disk contains a series of recesses,shown in the figures as radially directed grooves or furrows 5, eachfurrow on one disk directly facing an opposing furrow on the other. Thefurrows have a curved concave contour, the width of each appropriatelyselected with reference to the size and proportions of the article beingcompressed. Each furrow is at least as wide as necessary to accommodatethe object, both before and after compression. For oblong articles ofwhich compression is desired along the longest dimension, the width andcurvature of the furrow will accommodate the smallest radius ofcurvature of the object, yet permit the expansion which occurs uponcompression. In addition, the furrow is sufficiently narrow and has asuffeciently small radius of curvature to prevent an oblong article fromrotating between the disks and thus moving out of alignment.

The number of furrows on the inner surface of each disk is not critical,and may range from a single furrow to a continuous series extending overthe entire surface of the disk. The latter is the preferred structure,providing a scalloped effect as shown in FIG. 1. This permits severalarticles to be compressed at the same time and thus enhances theefficiency of the operation.

Each pair of opposing furrows forms a pocket closed at the bottom by aflexible membrane 6. The latter serves to receive the object as it isfed to the space between the disks for compression, and also forms abarrier between the pocket and the mounting shaft 4 on which the disksare supported.

The membrane is flexible and may be elastic, but is sufficiently narrowin its spanning width to maintain the original alignment of the articleduring compression, yet permit radial expansion of the article away fromthe axis of compression. The article is fed to the pocket at the pointin rotation where the disks are separated to their maximum extent. Foroblong articles, the membrane need not be taut at this point but shouldhave sufficiently little slack that the axis of the object will lieparallel to the shaft. The membrane may be constructed of any flexibledurable material such as, for example, neoprene rubber. Its positionalong the radius of the disks is not critical, but preferablysufficiently close to the outer perimeter of each disk to place theobject at a point along the disk radius where it will receive themaximum compression as the disk rotate. For disks having a continuousseries of furrows forming a scalloped effect, the membrane shouldcompletely encircle the support shaft 4 to form a closed deformablecylinder between the disks.

The disks are mounted in such a manner as to permit the rotation of eachabout its center and yet maintain the vertical V arrangement. This canbe accomplished by a variety of mounting arrangements. In the embodimentshown in the drawings, the disks are mounted on the shaft 4 through aconnection 7 which prevents the disks from sliding along the shaft yetpermits the tilting or canting of each disk so that its plane may befreely rotated away from the plane perpendicular to the axis of thesupport shaft, at least within a predetermined angle. In addition, thedisk centers are mounted on the shaft at a predetermined distance fromeach other, leaving sufficient room for the disks to be biased towardeach other at the base to form the V. The actual distance between thedisks and their point of mounting to the shaft is not critical.Appropriate selection of this distance will vary with the size and shapeof the article being compressed. This distance together with thelocation of the membrane along the disk radius and the angle of tiltwill be appropriately adjusted for oblong articles to accommodate thearticle without leaving an excess of free space between the article andthe disk surface. This will help to avoid a substantial shift ofposition of the article as the disks rotate and come together.

A biasing contact 8 is located on the outer surface of each disk,generally below the shaft. These contacts tilt the disks toward eachother to form a V as mentioned above. The position of each contact isfixed in space and thus moves with respect to its corresponding disk asthe disk rotates, thereby describing a circle on the outer disk surface.The contacts are comprised of sliding or rolling connections whichmaintain full contact with the disks as the disks rotate. The biasingcontacts are preferably located directly beneath the support shaft, asshown in the drawings. The narrowest space between the disks is then atthe bottom, and the center line of the V is approximately vertical.

In the embodiment shown in the drawings, each contact consists of anadjustable screw 9 mounted on the rigid frame of the apparatus (notshown), and cooperating with a circular channel 10 on the outer face ofeach disk. The channel is preferably a locking channel, capable ofretaining the screw head and minimizing the wobbling of the disks asthey rotate.

Rotation of the disks is achieved in any conventional manner, providedthe disks rotate together at the same rate and in the same direction, sothat corresponding grooves remain opposed to each other at all pointsduring the rotation. This is readily accomplished in a variety of waysknown to those skilled in the art. For example, the support shaft itselfmay be rotated or a separate drive mechanism may rotate the disksdirectly. The embodiment shown in the drawings utilizes the formermethod, wherein the support shaft 4 is rotated by a chain-gear 11 drivenby a motor 12. The mounting connection 7 appropriate for either of thesemethods or equivalent methods will be readily apparent to those skilledin the art.

The articles to be compressed are fed to the apparatus in a manner whichis coordinated with the disk rotation. In preferred embodiments, thefeed mechanism aligns and orients the articles as desired forcompression, and also spaces them so that they will enter each pocket asit reaches its point of widest expansion. For oblong objects, thelongest dimension must be parallel to the axis of the shaft 4. Thespacing and rate of feed are thus coordinated with the width of each ofthe furrows on the disks and the rate of the disk rotation. Feeding tomeet these requirements is accomplished by conventional apparatus, ofwhich a wide variety of designs are known. Examples include thosedisclosed in Smitt, U.S. Pat. No. 1,922,717 (Aug. 15, 1933); Magnuson,U.S. Pat. No. 2,534,362 (Dec. 19, 1950); Harvey et al., U.S. Pat. No.2,787,361 (Apr. 2, 1957); Daugherty, U.S. Pat. No. 3,212,621 (Oct. 19,1965); Gerrans, U.S. Pat. No. 3,460,668 (Aug. 12, 1969); and Green, U.S.Pat. No. 3,923,143 (Dec. 2, 1975). In the embodiment shown in thedrawings, the feed mechanism is a pair of plates 13, 14 arranged inV-shaped configuration preferably at a slight decline with respect tothe horizontal. The plates form a trough which aligns the articles as itdirects them one at a time into the uppermost pocket between the dishes.To enhance the movement of the articles as well as their alignment, theplates may be oscillated 180° out of phase with each other along thedirection of movement of the articles. As a further option, a timed gate(not shown) may be placed in front of the plates to coordinate thearticle feed with the position of the dishes 2, 3 during their rotation.

The finished articles are readily removed from the apparatus bygravitational force. Once the article passes the point of narrowest gapwidth between the disk, it is no longer held captive and falls free.Depending on the nature of the object, particularly in the case of foodproducts, removal may by enhanced by a gentle stream of water.

The apparatus as herein disclosed is useful for the compression of anypliable or compressible object, and is particularly useful on oblongobjects sought to be compressed along their axis. The device findsconsiderable utility in the food processing industry, notably theshaping of food products such as fruits, particularly pitted prunes. Forprune preparation, the apparatus is conveniently used in conjunctionwith pit removal machines, such as those disclosed in Ashlock, U.S. Pat.No. 2,589,324 (Mar. 18, 1952); Ashlock, U.S. Pat. NO. 2,604,131 (July22, 1952); Ashlock, U.S. Pat. NO. 2,614,594 (Oct. 21, 1952); Cantoni etal., U.S. Pat. No. 3,234,984 (Feb. 15, 1966); Cantoni et al., U.S. Pat.NO. 3,282,314 (Nov. 1, 1966); Margaroli et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,469,612(Sept. 30, 1969); and Margaroli et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,556,281 (Jan.19, 1971).

The foregoing description is offered primarily for purposes ofillustration. While a variety of embodiments has been disclosed, it isnot intended that the present invention be limited to the particularstructures or methods of operation set forth above. It will be readilyapparent to those skilled in the art that numerous modifications andvariations not mentioned here can still be made without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the invention as claimed hereinbelow.

What is claimed is:
 1. Apparatus for compressing a pitted prune alongits longest dimension, comprising:a pair of disks arranged in asubstantially vertical V-shaped configuration, the opposing surfaces ofsaid disks forming at least one pair of opposing recesses to accommodatesaid pitted prune, means for rotating said disks about their centers atthe same rate and in the same direction while maintaining saidsubstantially vertical V-shaped configuration, means for feeding saidpitted prune into the space between said recesses at the point in therotation where said recesses are located at the widest portion of said Vand with said longest dimension parallel to the line connecting thecenters of said disks, and a flexible membrane connecting said disks andspanning the space between said recesses to define a pocket openingtoward the rims of said disks, said membrane being sufficiently taut tomaintain the orientation of said pitted prune as said disks rotate. 2.Apparatus according to claim 1 in which said disks are cantably mountedat the centers thereof on a common horizontal shaft and said V-shapedconfiguration is maintained by biasing the edges of said disks towardeach other below said shaft at a point which remains fixed as the disksrotate.
 3. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which said opposingrecesses are radial furrows.
 4. Apparatus according to claim 1 in whichsaid opposing recesses are radial furrows and the opposing surfaces ofsaid disks form a continuous series of said opposing radial furrowsextending over the entire inner surface of each said disk, and saidflexible barrier is in the form of a deformable cylinder encircling theline defined by the centers of each disk.